"Without a hitch," he assured his partner, retrieving a knife from his boot and getting to work removing the door from its hinges.

Venenzio got started on the bottom half and soon, they were gingerly moving the door aside, settling it against the wall closest to the chain. "Go." Ven told him, kneeling back down. "I'll get the door back on and be out, but you get a head start."

"Just prop it against the frame and we'll go." He urged.

Ven pressed his lips together; he hated the idea of leaving behind evidence of their work. But Giovanni was right. It would take too long. "Fine. We should split up."

Giovanni nodded curtly. "Don't let your guard down."
It wasn't like Venenzio needed it said, but it was worth mentioning anyway. They knew nothing about what this sudden lockdown entailed and they had no need to be caught unaware.

Venenzio glanced up at the sky, brow furrowed. "Reconvene here within the hour. The guards are distracted but just one of them needs to happen upon the door to realize we've disappeared."
He'd set it as firmly against the hinges as it could. From the distance they were standing, it looked like everything was as it should be. But if a more deliberating eye happened to glance upwards from the padlock... he turned to examine the grounds, hidden from their view by the girth of the banyan tree. There was no way out of the house from the back. East, west, or north it was. "I'll take the west."

"I'll head north." He decided. "The traitor is our top priority, but any intel on the Lumanliscs is a close second."

Venenzio gave him a single nod and then stepped towards the tree, vanishing behind its massive trunk.

Getting past the guards might not have been such an easy feat if they weren't so distracted. All of them peered into the forest past the gates, petrified. No one was looking for something to be sneaking out of the Hold and into the trees.

... which was exactly what Giovanni did upon finding a suitable spot to vault the outer wall, following the shadows of the faintly swaying trees away from civilization.

The world beyond the gates was dark and much colder than usual. These woods bore trees that grew in thickets, thorny vines and branches sharpened like blades. Everything was utterly silent as Giovanni made his way through, weaving around thick trunks and ducking under low branches. Not a single creature stirred the leaves, nor did anything call out in warning.

His trained ears soon picked up on a soft scuffle - the sound of feet walking rapidly amidst the brush. As he neared the sound, a familiar shape grew more distinct, back-lit by a flickering blue light. Roo.